Due to the success of our Awards ceremony last year, we decided we’d do it again this year, but bigger and better.

This year, we decided to invite all of our clients to join us to celebrate the success of their home care assistants. We know how much they enjoy their monthly Rise sessions and their trip to Skegness, as a reason for them to get out the house and socialise with their peers, so we knew they’d love to join us for our annual celebration and Christmas festivities.

The afternoon was months in planning to try and create a wonderful time for both staff and clients, with lots of ideas flying around.

We held our Awards at Turner Hall in Mansfield Woodhouse.

The room was the perfect space for all the people we had attending, room for us to bring outside caterers in and even a stage for some entertainers.

We had The Forest Singers join us to sing some Christmas Carols throughout the afternoon. There was lots of singing along from all of our clients, and they even invited one very special client on to stage to sing her favourite carol, Away in a Manger. This client’s “Make It Happen” wish, was to sing with a choir. So with some behind the scenes planning, we managed to arrange for her wish to come true. It was a beautiful moment for all and brought plenty of happy tears.

Mansfield Balloon Company came in to help make the room look fabulous for the occasion with some balloons on each and some fabulous balloon towers at the front to make a show of us handing out the awards. Everyone enjoyed a really delicious buffet provided by Patchills Pantry. So many asked where it was from and the quantities were fantastic; there was enough to take home afterwards!

They provided a brilliant, timely service and the food was outstanding; a huge variety of sandwiches, cakes, potato salads and more.

We couldn’t throw a celebration like this and not have a photographer to capture the occasion. We wanted some beautiful professional quality photographs that we could look back on. Forecast Designs were the chosen photographer and we are thrilled with their work. Dan was friendly, and made everyone feel very comfortable, even with a camera lense pointed at them. The photos were returned back to us so fast and are all so beautiful. Dan really managed to capture the emotion and the wholesome feel of the day and the connection that we have with each of our clients.

Now, lets talk about our Awards…

We wanted to recognise some of the very best of 2024 and reward them for their commitment to their clients. One of our lovely clients had a poem in her house that she said she wanted us all to have as it makes her think of our home care assistants. We had this printed out and put in everyone’s places so they had one to take home. A small token gift was also made for everyone; a little fridge magnet for them to remember the day.

We also tried to incorporate some fun, light hearted awards, that our team came up with. Some awards were voted for by clients, and some were voted for by colleagues.

Our light hearted awards are:

The most accident prone, voted for by colleagues – Diane

The Comedian, voted for by colleagues – Leanne

The one always smiling, voted for by colleagues – Karolina

The awards nominated for by colleagues are:

Office Champion winner, voted for by colleagues – Lesley

Outstanding Team Player, voted for by colleagues – Samantha

Newcomer of the year Mansfield, chosen by management – Karolina

Newcomer of the year Ashfield, chosen by management – Michelle & Jamie-Lee

Harriett’s Choice Award, chosen by Harriett (Registered Care Manager) – Denise

The awards everyone wants, nominated for by clients are:

Carer of the Year Mansfield 2024 – Emma, for being an “absolute angel”, “kind, caring and patient”

Carer of the Year Ashfield 2024 – Andrea for being “a star, a brilliant carer and always puts a smile on my face”

The day was full of emotion from all staff members, home care assistants to management, and from clients too. There were lots of heartfelt words of thanks, and lots of tears that followed.

Our team deserve so much, but due to the nature of job, we have to do what we can with just a few hours one afternoon before they go back out into the community to see those who need the support. And that is the very reason why our home care assistants deserve all the praise and recognition we can give them; because they willingly give their time to help others.

As each year passes and we grow our team and our client base, we hope to make each years celebrations more special and more memorable for everyone.

We thank every one of our clients, their families and friends, as well as our staff and their families and friends. Without all of their support, we couldn’t be the team that we are today. We hope that 2025 brings everyone luck, health and happiness, and we can’t wait to see what the year brings for us.